Railway-crossing



R. E. BOWEN. RAILWAY CROSSNG. lAPPLlcMloN F|LED1uNE4,-192o.

IN VEN TOI? ATTORNEYS R. E. BOWEN.

RAILWAY CROSSING.

, APPLICATION FILED 11mm, 1920. V

1,381,787., VrPatentedrune14,1921.,

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UNITED STATES iktraiteur omen.

RICHARD 'EAGER IBO'VEN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

RAILWAY-CROSSING.

Application filed June 4,

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD Essen BownN,-a citizen 4of the United States, and a resident of Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and Improved Railway- Crossing, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates `to a railway crossing and more particularly to a crossing in which provision is made for so forming the crossing tracks and wheel-flange grooves as to eliminate .the bumping or pounding caused by the car wheels jumping across the grooves formed in the respective tracks.

The nature of the invention, its distinctive features and advantages will Vclearly appear as the description proceeds.

Reference is to be had to the accompany ing drawings it Vbeing understood that the drawings are merely illustrati-ve of vpractical examples of the invention.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a railway crossing embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2 2, Fie'. l;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a plan view .of an element employed at the intersection of the crossing grooves in the preferred form of my invention;

Fig. `5 is a plan view representing a form of the invention in which all the parts are cast integral;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section lon the line 66, Fig. 5.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 to t, my improved crossing includes a base 9 on which the elements forming the various crossing track members are laid as follows:

Said base presents at the center a rectangular frame-like element 11 within the square formed by the intersecting tracks, said frame being covered by a plate 10. About said frame are disposed key members 12 having a wedge formation as best seen in section, Fig. 3. l Outside of the main l tracks at opposite sides of the central rectangular elements 10, 1.1, 12, I provide plates 13, 15, which may be the same size or different sizes and each surrounded respectively at three sides by frames 14, 14a. The elements 12 at two sides of the central rectangle and the opposed side frames 14, 14stL define the track grooves running in one direction and hereinafter referred to as relating to the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 14, 1921.

1920. serial No. 386,616.

main track groove of the crossing. At those two sides of the central rectangular structure opposite the two frames 1st, 15a, I provide plates 10T each surrounded at three sides by a frame 11a, at two sides of which frames 11 the elements 12a are employed, corresponding generally with and alining with the key elements 12 and defining one side of the colitinuations 16a of the central .track grooves 16 of the main rails. Parts of ordinary ,main track rails A are indicated as leading to thi` alined grooves 16, 16n and to the tread surfaces of the main rails of the crossing as hereinafterv referred to. l

Said main alined track grooves 16, 16L of the crossing which are thus defined at one side by alined elements 12, 122L are delined at their `opposite sides by the aforementioned three-sided frames 14, 141 and the alining sides of triangular frames 14h, said 'fi-ames. 14, 14a, 14th, presenting the tread surfaces of the main rails of the crossing to receive the treads B of the car wheels while said alined groove members 16, 16aL accommodate the flanges o of the wheels. In order that at the crossing the wheel treads B of the car wheels run at an elevation above and clear .of the tread surfaces of the elements 14E,

14a, 14h, the bottom surfaces of the grooves 16a, 16 are Aat such an elevation relatively to the tread surfaces of the track elements that the wheels will run on their flanges b in said grooves. In the preferred form of the inven tion, I provide alined elements 17, 17a, at the bottoms of the grooves 16, 16a of the main tracks of the crossing and presenting top surfaces on which the wheel flanges Z9 run. The elements 17, 1"?aN are of hardened steel to withstand the wear. Elements similar to the elements 17, 1'?a are provided in the crossing grooves, the latter being designated at their central portions by the character 161 and the continuations of the cross.- ing grooves at the sides of the central portion 16h-being designated respectively 16, 16d. The hardened elements in the crossing groove portions 16h are indicated at 17h and the alinedv hardened elements in the crossing groove portions 16C, 16l are `designated respectively 17C, .17.

The tread surfaces of the crossing tracks are formed by the adjacent sides 4of the frame-like members 11a with the alined transverse members of the frames 1411), said frames 11a, 11b defining one side of the crossing grooves 16h, 16C, 16d. The opposite sides of said crossing grooves are defined by the adjacent key elements 12 and the alined transverse members of the frames 14, 14a with their key elements 12b, 12C, the latter key elements alining with the adjacent key elements 12.

The plate 10 rests on inwardly directed flanges 18 on the frame-like element 11 and the plates 10a on corresponding flanges 18a on the frames 112t while the plates 13, 15 rest on similar flanges 18b on the plates 14, 1113. Y

The wedge-shaped key or locking elements 12, 12C are removably held in position by suitable means such as depending shanks 19 thereon threaded at their lower ends to receive nuts 20 beneath the base 9. rlfhe hardened bottom elements 17 to 17d are received at one side in undercut recesses in the base and frame members as indicated at 26 in F ig. 3 and the locking elements 12 to 12c back up said bottom elements at the opposite sides and effectively prevent their displacement.

The distance between parallel grooves in the crossing is such that in any side play of the car truck, the wheel flanges will bear against one or the other of parallel locking elements 12 so 'that said locking elements will take the wear of the side thrusts.

At the intersection of the main and crossing grooves I may as shown provide cruciform or equivalent elements 23 in the grooves flush with the hardened plates designated 17 to 17d. Said elements 23 have depending shanks 24 threaded to receive nuts 25 and they may be lifted from their posi-' tions and turned about the axis of the shanks to dispose their arms differently according to the wear in a given direction thereon.

As seen in Fig. 2 the wheel flange grooves are of such a depth at the crossing that the wheel flanges will engage the hardened elements (17h, 17C, 17d in said figure) and travel thereon as the wheels approach an intersection of the crossing grooves as well as in passing through the crossing from one intersecting point of the grooves beyond the other, for which purpose the tread surfaces of the crossing to take the wheel treads B are inclined so that a wheel approaching an intersecting groove of the crossing will travel on its tread surface downwardly toward the intersecting groove until the ange of the wheel rides on the hardened element at the bottom of the groove before the wheel reaches an intersecting groove, the wheels correspondingly rolling over an incline upon leaving the crossing until the tread again rolls on its tread surface B.

In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the whole crossing 9 is formed in one piece to present parallel grooves 16e for the wheels running in one direction and crossing grooves 16f and said grooves have inclined surfaces at the bottom thereof, said inclined surfaces being designated 17e for the firstmentioned grooves and 17 f for the crossing grooves so that as the wheels traveling in one groove and approaching an intersecting groove will, before passing said intersecting groove, run with their flanges on said inclined surfaces at the near side of an intersecting groove, and across the latter and then run on the descendingincline at theopposite side of the crossing causing the wheel tread B to eventually travel on the tread surfaces 11d provided at the far ends of the grooves.

The hardened elements (17 to 17d) are square in cross section and are adapted to be reversed end to end or be disposed with either side uppermost and thereby p-rolonging the period of usefulness.

I would state in conclusion that while the illustrated examples constitute practical embodiments of my invention, I do not `limit myself strictly to the mechanical details herein illustrated, since manifestly the same can be considerably varied without departure from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A crossing presenting intersecting grooves for the wheel flanges, said crossing comprising a base presenting undercut recesses along one side of each groove, elements in the grooves at the bottom and eX- tending into said recesses, and removable wedge-shaped locking elements for said firstmentioned elements at the opposite sides from said recesses, the grooves at their intersections being of a depth to cause the wheel flanges to travel on the bottom surfaces of the grooves, the adjacent surfaces at the outer sides of the grooves being at elevations to lie below the wheel treads.

2. A railway crossing presenting intersecting grooves for the wheel flanges, and hardened wedge shaped elements along the grooves at the inner sides to take the side thrusts of the wheel flanges, the grooves at their intersections being of a depth to cause the wheel flanges to travel on the bottom surfaces of the grooves, the adjacent surfaces at the outer sides of the grooves being at elevations to lie below the wheel treads.

3. A railway crossing presenting intersecting grooves, the grooves at their intersections being of a depth to cause the wheel flanges to travel on the bottom surfaces of the grooves, the adjacent surfaces at the outer sides of the grooves being at elevations to lie below the wheel treads, there being elements forming the bottoms of the grooves and presenting a plurality of faces, said elements being removably held to permit of their being positioned with either of said faces uppermost.

RICHARD EAGER BOWEN. 

